TJ (logically) - reviewed on 4/4/2010 + 3 more book reviews

John Perry's wife is dead and he's 75 years old. The only thing left for him to do is wait to die--or join the Civil Defence Forces (CDF). Who would want an old man in their Army? John and everyone else on Earth isn't entirely sure, but the speculation is that the CDF has the technology to make people young again... And if you survive the service, the CDF promises a plot of land in one of the human colonies.

OLD MAN'S WAR is my first Scalzi novel. I've previously read his novella/short story found in METATROPOLIS and his nonfiction YOUR HATE MAIL WILL BE GRADED, so I suspected that Scalzi's sense of humor and fiction writing would suit me just fine. What I did not expect was falling in love. It's just ridiculous how much to love about OLD MAN'S WAR. In fact, the book is a quick read and ridiculously entertaining.

And not only is it entertaining, it's thought provoking. After all, one cannot hardly use the words "colony" or "colonialism" without realizing that it's a loaded term. Scalzi is a smart guy, so he certainly knows. And rather than give an answer or one way of looking at the topic, he throws out several perspectives to the reader and steps back. I love that sort of writing. Along with colonialism, there's a bunch of other issues raised in OLD MAN'S WAR: mercenary systems, the ease of violence, ownership/withholding of technology, etc. It's enough to chew on for awhile--and enough that I'm surprised that the novel ended up as lightweight as it is.

Also surprising is that amidst a tale of war, Scalzi manages to deftly craft a humble humor. It doesn't always fit perfectly. Hell, John Perry's (the protagonist) humor falls short in one of the earliest scenes to another character, but I have the feeling that Scalzi falls in with Perry on the idea that it's better to try to make someone smile and crack the joke rather than not try at all. I can appreciate that sort of outlook.

Really, I'm a little gushy about how great this novel is and can't seem to get everything out quite right. How unexpected to find a fantastic science fiction novel equipped with a feel for action and a sense of humor? From the beautiful opening scene (in which John Perry visits his wife's grave) the story starts off in increasing speed. Add to that the humble humor of Scalzi (and/or Perry) and you have a winner of a novel. Even with all that, there's not even a hint of pretension in the entire thing, which is perhaps the most amazing thing of all.

The only negatives I'll bring up--from my perspective--that there were a lot of topics that needed more. It's a tease to bring up an idea and then move on blithely. One doesn't have to answer everything, but one does have to explore the idea with the reader. As much as I enjoyed the, erm, latest storyline regarding the Ghost Brigades, it felt like a bit of a cheat from where John Perry had started. Sure, I want him to get to that point with that person eventually, but what about all the questions along the way? Primarily, I wanted more with the ramifications and motivations on recruiting the Earth's old. After all, there's a whole bunch of military science fiction out there, but this particular premise is what makes Scalzi's take on it unique. So give me more. Additionally, I wanted John Perry to have just a little more trouble along the way rather than be the perfect golden soldier. Also, I have a few nitpicks with the military ranks/customs, but I'll write them off as different due to the CDF being an entirely new entity from the Earth Army rather than get bent out of shape.

The negatives are minimal when compared to the list of difficult to achieve positives. After finishing OLD MAN'S WAR, I knew I instantly that I want to read everything Scalzi has published. Such a writer is too rare to miss out on.

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